Sand bottom

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cjdave

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Mar 2, 2014
Messages
57
Location
Wilmington North Carolina
Hi all. I have a 29gl tank with gravel bottom a fake plants. I run a aquaclear 50 filter. I'm having to move my tank and I want to change to a sand bottom. Someone told me I could use swimming pool filter sand for this is this true? If not I'm trying to find a sand that is inexpensive? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks David
 
Last edited:
Pool filter sand works fine? just rinse it thoroughly first. I had it in my tank and there were no issues.

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Play sand has much larger particles so it depends on if your goal is to put fish that work a sand bottom and have fragle mouthes
 
You can use blasting sand, play sand, pool filter sand, and silica sand. Just make sure it's clean before putting it in your tank.
 
I have a 20 long and a 37 g that have sand in them. The 37 has sand straight from the gulf coast, the 20 long has sand that I simply bought from the pet store. I have never had a problem with anything at all in my 37. My 20 long (the one with the pet store sand) has a fluval filter on it. The propeller on the filter seemed to get sand in it and cause an awful noise. I would clean it out and put petroleum jelly in it and it would quiet down. It did that several time until about 2 months ago. However, the 37 is a much taller tank and it is harder for the sand to reach the filter. If you are using a 29, then you should not have a problem with your sand substrate. Just be sure to let it settle. Pretty much any sand is okay to use. It is also safe to boil the sand first with some conditioner just to kill any harmful bacteria. And it also helps, especially if you want more live plants, to add some gravel to the sand. Kinda do a mixture of the two. It works great in my heavily planted tanks and I strongly prefer it.
 
Other tips.

Sand does not mix well with your AC50. (Or any mechanical impeller.) If you disturb the sand, insure the pump is off. Also, do not have the pickup tube super close to the sand bottom.

Sand finds its way into the impeller, and acts like sandpaper in there.
 
Filter sand for a pool or spa filter. It's about 10 bucks for a 40 lb bag. Works well for me.
 
Play sand has much larger particles so it depends on if your goal is to put fish that work a sand bottom and have fragle mouthes

You can use blasting sand, play sand, pool filter sand, and silica sand. Just make sure it's clean before putting it in your tank.


The problem is that "play sand" doesn't necessarily tell you much about whats actually in the bag. It can be a mix of lots of different things which may or may not affect water parameters. Pool filter sand on the other hand is usually labeled as being 100% silica sand which is what you're looking for.

Other tips.

Sand does not mix well with your AC50. (Or any mechanical impeller.) If you disturb the sand, insure the pump is off. Also, do not have the pickup tube super close to the sand bottom.

Sand finds its way into the impeller, and acts like sandpaper in there.

A foam pre-filter works well in these situations.
 
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